Learning is fun

You’re asking children to come to school on Saturday morning, or after a long day at their mainstream school – educational activities can still be exciting and fun, right?

We all learn better when we’re relaxed and learning in new ways. That’s why NRCSE is always looking for opportunities for supplementary schools to get creative and benefit from partnerships with libraries, arts and heritage organisations, universities that are researching new teaching methods. The Critical Connections project run by Dr Jim Anderson of Goldsmith’s, London University is a wonderful opportunity to learn how to use digital technology to enthuse learners, especially teenagers (and we all know that can be hard sometimes).

On 13th October we are holding a session at Resource for London with the wonderful Goldsmith’s Digital Story Telling programme – Critical Connections. An opportunity to find out more from supplementary schools that have already benefitted from the programme and to join the next cohort.

Watch this video produced by students at HuaHsia Chinese School

Read more about the project and the benefits that Peace Arabic School students experienced on the project website.

The event is free but you must book in advance. Go to the NRCSE Eventbrite page to do that www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/making-critical-connections-for-language-learning-tickets

“Digital storytelling gave me a way of expressing my creativity and imagination [in Arabic]. If you give me a camera and a laptop, anything is possible” Students, Peace School.

“How can we help? – It’s fantastic, it’s just amazing and the children love it…I think it’s very very good because everyone’s getting involved” Parent, Hua Hsia Chinese School.

Digital Story Telling will certainly help to improve accredited Community Language Learning, as well strengthening English language skills.

In 2012-2014, Goldsmiths, University of London with the support of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, ran a highly successful and stimulating project exploring the significance of multilingual digital storytelling for young people and their learning.

Now the university has got further funding to run the project for 2015-17. Would you like to be involved? NRCSE is hosting a network meeting for supplementary schools to find out more and register their interest.

Mainstream and community-based complementary/supplementary schools in and around London as well as partners overseas, took part. The project involved primary and secondary level students studying a range of languages including Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, English as an additional/foreign languages, French, German and Greek.

The project revealed the resourcefulness and creativity of teachers and students working within various constraints imposed by the education system.

For more information come to this event (let us know if you are planning to attend on 13th October) and/or get in touch with:

Dr Jim Anderson
Senior Lecturer in Languages in Education
Department of Educational Studies
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross
SE14 6NW

Email: j.anderson@gold.ac.uk
Tel: 020-7919-7085